Gear Check: Razer Naga MMO Gaming Mouse + Megasoma Mousing Surface!

Greetings Wowhead denizens! You may remember a few months ago I got my hands on some sweet Razer gaming peripherals and was able to give them a go and share my opinions with the rest of you. Back then we were looking at the Razer Lycosa Gaming Keyboard, the Razer DeathAdder Gaming Mouse, and the Razer Destructor Precision Gaming Surface. I enjoyed using all of the products, and still use the Lycosa and Destructor to this day - anyone who has caught me on Team Fortress 2 or in our #Wowhead IRC channel has probably heard my blathering on about how much I love my Lycosa. Razer's new additions are no exception to the quality and performance I have come to expect from their products. Their latest offerings include the Razer Megasoma™ Professional Gaming Mouse Mat, a sleek, hybrid silicon mousepad that combines the best of both worlds and (most importantly) Razer's first ever MMO mouse - the Razer Naga.

We'll be looking at both of these sweet new toys after the jump!

Starting with the Razer Megasoma - I'm sure most casual gamers (yes, this includes some WoW players) don't see much purpose to having a fancy-shmancy mousepad. Having a professional grade mousing surface can only improve so much, since all you're really doing in World of Warcraft is pointing and clicking, and every once in a while rotating your camera. I'd assume many players are using typical foam mousepads (or probably even the cool map ones included in the World of Warcraft Collector's Editions). Some players might not even be using mousepads at all (ok, I pity you - I really do). But if you're considering something different, the Razer Megasoma is an excellent choice. For starters, the mousing surface is made of silicon - not foam or plastic, so it's flexible and smooth, not a difficult jump from a normal mousepad. However, it has a sweet, delicately textured surface similar to that found on Razer's hard mat offerings (such as the Destructor I mentioned earlier). I found no issue with tracking, and found the Megasoma to be a comfortable surface for even the most twitchy, swift mouse movements. When I'm not on World of Warcraft I play a lot of first-person shooters, and the Megasoma proved itself quite nicely on the battlefield, especially when paired with an excellent gaming mouse.

Speaking of excellent gaming mice - holy cow, the Razer Naga. I don't even know where to start with this thing - it has seventeen freakin' buttons! SEVENTEEN. I'm pretty bad with keybindings; I've previously used a Logitech G11 keyboard and had absolutely nothing macro'd to any of the G keys over the year that I used it. I play some FPS with nothing but vocal emotes keybound. Don't tell anyone else, but I actually click some of my WoW hotkeys—that's right—with the mouse. Now that this shocking testimonial is out of the way—did I mention that it has seventeen buttons? The Razer Naga features a grid of 12 keys found on the right hand thumb side of the mouse, which correspond to in-game hotkeys. There is a switch at the bottom of the device which allows you to switch between using your number keys (1-=) to the NumPad grid (found on the right side of most typical keyboards). These side keys can be used as alternatives to your normal World of Warcraft hotkeys (since, by default, the main action bar is keybound to 1 through =) and can be further customized through use of the Razer Naga in-game addon, though it is worth mentioning that the addon is not required. The buttons also feature a cool blue backlight that can be toggled on or off via the external Naga Configurator program.

In addition to providing an excellent (and customizable) experience through the innovative button grid featured on the Naga, the mouse also excels in pretty much every OTHER way imaginable. It is probably the most comfortable mouse I have ever used, with a sort of rubbery finish and a body that comfortable caters to extended hours of play (casual or not). I thought the finger rest groove on the right side of the mouse was an excellent feature, as I found myself often resting my hand casually on the mouse while playing and experienced no discomfort even after extended play sessions. This is a mouse that most players shouldn't have any difficulty growing accustomed to, especially once you get past the seemingly ominous button grid.

Or is it really that ominous? It's definitely worth mentioning that Razer have gone out of their way with this one to insure that players are able to get the most out of their Razer Naga mouse. Included with the mouse is the 'Razer Naga Grid Trainer,' a small instructional card including two sheets of "trainers," which are small silicon gel stickers shaped either like dots, or like the actual buttons, which can be applied to the Razer Naga to help players become more comfortable with the button layout. Razer have even made an instructional video on the use of these 'Trainers,' though they are also quite sure that the vast majority of players new to the Razer Naga will become comfortable with the button layout within 18 hours of gameplay. My own experience was no exception - as someone who previously would never use anything other than mouse 1 - 3, I plugged in the Naga and was immediately able to jump into a Heroic dungeon in World of Warcraft and challenge myself to succesfully complete it (with no wipes, of course) without using my keyboard. Using only mouse 1+2 for movement (with mouse3 bound to auto-run) and using the button grid corresponding to my hotkeys, I had no problems healing the run - and it was definitely a fun and different experience!

You can further customize your in-game keybinding configuration using the World of Warcraft Razer Naga addon, which also serves as an extensive and customizable bar addon. I didn't find much reason to use the addon, personally, as you can achieve basically the same result using whichever hotbar addon you may have previously used (in my case, Bartender4) by simply setting ingame keybindings appropriately. The Razer addon (obviously) does feature Naga-specific tie-in functionality that players may prefer, and it's worth mentioning that you can configure Razer's addon to look/perform basically the same as any other major bar addon. Razer's official Naga website features a nice video section which includes tutorials on installing the mouse software and in-game addon and configuring the addon and in-game keybindings.

A very cool product from a very cool company who have truly gone out of their way to show that they're committed to providing some pretty awesome stuff when it comes to the world of gaming peripherals. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a new toy I'd like to get to know better...

Comments

Comment by Tygrid

I ordered mine on friday, should come in tomorrow! I'm so excited for it. I'm only worried if its gonna be bulky or feel weird.

Comment by Skinripper

on 2009-10-19T02:30:13-05:00

Mouse pad? fancy mouses? im useing an origonal acer mouse with no mouse pad. its a plastic brick on a splintery desk. and i never use hotkeys, i click everything : / these mouses arent anything rare though - i see steamvaults are full of them! Ahaha. eheh.. hmm..

Comment by Miyari

on 2009-10-19T02:56:20-05:00

I'm only worried if its gonna be bulky or feel weird.

For having so many buttons, it's a surprisingly non-bulky mouse. It's actually rather small; fits in the hand pretty comfortably. I was talking with someone about it not long ago and they were interested in a size comparison, so I compared it to Logitech's MX518 (another popular gaming mouse) and you can see it's quite comfortably petite in comparison. Also, for the record, that was taken at my other PC hence the non-Razer peripherals. ;)

Comment by Kohlmat

on 2009-10-19T03:41:43-05:00

You may find my question silly but I'm looking for a more or less "silent" mouse and up to now it doesn't seem Razer mice are really silent...Is this one any different? (yes my significant other doesn't like when I play late :) )

Comment by Eluneril

on 2009-10-19T05:26:50-05:00

Looks really nice, but I can't imagine ever giving up my MX518 <3 I do have really big hands, so I prefer a big mouse like mine to a tiny one.

Do you think it would still be comfortable if you have ''shovel hands''? (As my friends so loving say >.>)

Comment by euroghal

on 2009-10-19T07:24:21-05:00

what no left handed design? /cry /screams at left hand and right brain :(

Comment by Sucura

on 2009-10-19T08:45:14-05:00

People use their left hand to mouse? :o

Comment by ZachUSAman

on 2009-10-19T08:56:12-05:00

does gearscore rate mouses?

Comment by Vlad

on 2009-10-19T09:13:15-05:00

All the contests are only for USA, this is the first time I check one out and reply to since I joined Wowhead. :DToo bad the world is split like this, but don't worry -once the economy fails totally in USA we might get more companies targeting Europe and other continents and not only USA. :D

Comment by Goldish

on 2009-10-19T11:05:17-05:00

I'm only worried if its gonna be bulky or feel weird.

For having so many buttons, it's a surprisingly non-bulky mouse. It's actually rather small; fits in the hand pretty comfortably. I was talking with someone about it not long ago and they were interested in a size comparison, so I compared it to Logitech's MX518 (another popular gaming mouse) and you can see it's quite comfortably petite in comparison. Also, for the record, that was taken at my other PC hence the non-Razer peripherals. ;)

How was the weight of the Naga compared to the MX518? I used the MX518 for years but switched to the Deathadder when my mouse buttons started to intermittently fail. The feather light weight of the Deathadder was such a blessing compared to pushing around the load of bricks MX518. I've been very interested in the Naga since it's debut, but really don't want to go back to a heavy mouse.

Comment by Gustav99990000

on 2009-10-19T12:36:52-05:00

Is it worth buying, if you got the 'world of warcraft mmo gaming mouse' made by steelseries? Or shall i just keep my mouse? (-;

Comment by KittyKat77

on 2009-10-19T13:10:50-05:00

I'm left handed and I taught myself to use my mouse right-or left- handed. :P

I also was given the option (GOD BLESS my leftie mom) of using left handed scissors, or trying to use scissors with my right hand. With a lot of practice I did get right-handed scissors mastered. Some things will always be hard though.. wire bound notebooks, writing without smudges or stains on my hand, etc.

Comment by Cadapalo

on 2009-10-19T13:18:26-05:00

Here you guys are using special mice and I'm still using a regular old mouse. Boy do I feel inferior. :P

Comment by zetsubo1

on 2009-10-19T14:45:51-05:00

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a new toy I'd like to get to know better...

this.

Comment by montezuma7

on 2009-10-19T15:02:00-05:00

I'm a little confused about the buttons on it. You use them as 1-9 on your keyboard, so pressing 1 on your keyboard and 1 on the mouse grid do the same thing? Is there a way to make them control different hotkeys? It would be nice to have my normal hotkeys like q,w,e,r,t,1-5 and then use the mouse buttons to eliminate all my shift-key modified hotkeys.

Comment by Miyari

on 2009-10-19T15:50:17-05:00

For having so many buttons, it's a surprisingly non-bulky mouse. It's actually rather small; fits in the hand pretty comfortably. I was talking with someone about it not long ago and they were interested in a size comparison, so I compared it to Logitech's MX518 (another popular gaming mouse) and you can see it's quite comfortably petite in comparison. Also, for the record, that was taken at my other PC hence the non-Razer peripherals. ;)

How was the weight of the Naga compared to the MX518? I used the MX518 for years but switched to the Deathadder when my mouse buttons started to intermittently fail. The feather light weight of the Deathadder was such a blessing compared to pushing around the load of bricks MX518. I've been very interested in the Naga since it's debut, but really don't want to go back to a heavy mouse.

It's not much heavier than the MX518, IMO. My perception is a little shot; I personally switched away from the MX518 to the G5 which features weight cartridges (which I loaded up to 16.9g) because I wanted a heavier mouse. I was having issues where I would take my hand off the mouse and the cursor would start navigating up, and it was messing with my aim to constantly have to be trying to force the mouse in place. While I was using the Naga for World of Warcraft, I decided to try out some FPS games with it (Team Fortress 2, COD4, CS:S, etc.) and I was surprised to find that even though the mouse was significantly lighter than my stacked G5, I was able to maintain perfect control. I wish I still had a DeathAdder lying around to give you a more accurate comparison, but I can say for sure that it is definitely not a "heavy" mouse.

In fact, I found that the lightness of the mouse combined with my in-game sensitivity settings was allowing me to accurately aim slightly faster, and the button grid (though I'd probably never use it for a FPS, thought you could!) wasn't even causing a problem. This realization was part of why I ended up purchasing a Razer Mamba wireless mouse, after quite some time of getting totally annoyed with Logitech's mice wires (look at my freakin' G5) and hoping that I'd find a happy neutral ground with the addition of the battery cartridge adding weight.

Comment by RagnakiMezaMage

on 2009-10-19T17:54:09-05:00

I try get my best luck getting that mouse.

Comment by papercow

on 2009-10-19T19:09:54-05:00

I'm a little confused about the buttons on it. You use them as 1-9 on your keyboard, so pressing 1 on your keyboard and 1 on the mouse grid do the same thing? Is there a way to make them control different hotkeys? It would be nice to have my normal hotkeys like q,w,e,r,t,1-5 and then use the mouse buttons to eliminate all my shift-key modified hotkeys.

Theres a lil switch at the bottom of the mouse to toggle between using the 123 keys or the numpad keys.

That means if you still wanna use ur 1-9, flick the switch to numpad mode and the buttons on the mouse will correspond to that of your numpad on ur keyboard :) That way you get a whole lot of keys at ur fingertips .. its ingenius and i love it!

Comment by Goldish

on 2009-10-19T19:59:10-05:00

It's not much heavier than the MX518, IMO. My perception is a little shot; I personally switched away from the MX518 to the G5 which features weight cartridges (which I loaded up to 16.9g) because I wanted a heavier mouse. I was having issues where I would take my hand off the mouse and the cursor would start navigating up, and it was messing with my aim to constantly have to be trying to force the mouse in place. While I was using the Naga for World of Warcraft, I decided to try out some FPS games with it (Team Fortress 2, COD4, CS:S, etc.) and I was surprised to find that even though the mouse was significantly lighter than my stacked G5, I was able to maintain perfect control. I wish I still had a DeathAdder lying around to give you a more accurate comparison, but I can say for sure that it is definitely not a "heavy" mouse.

In fact, I found that the lightness of the mouse combined with my in-game sensitivity settings was allowing me to accurately aim slightly faster, and the button grid (though I'd probably never use it for a FPS, thought you could!) wasn't even causing a problem. This realization was part of why I ended up purchasing a Razer Mamba wireless mouse, after quite some time of getting totally annoyed with Logitech's mice wires (look at my freakin' G5) and hoping that I'd find a happy neutral ground with the addition of the battery cartridge adding weight.

Thank you so much for the response. Yeah the DeathAdder cord is very thin and i think adds to the "lightness," the result of your G5 cord would drove me nuts!

Not to be a "fan boy" but while doing FPS' I really loved my light DeathAdder combined with the slower Mantis "Control," which appears to be the Goliathus "Control" now. Do you have any experience with either of these cloth pads and how comparable is it to the Megasoma? I love the control of the cloth but keeping it clean is a pain.

Thanks for your time!

Comment by Hotmilk

on 2009-10-19T20:12:15-05:00

what no left handed design? /cry /screams at left hand and right brain :(

Seriously. You'd think that with all the money that goes into developing and marketing a product like this, increasing your potential customer base by 10-15% would be worth making a couple mirrored injection molds.